As one of the CBSE schools, we understand the kind of effect marks or grades has on a child’s performance. There are mostly two ways to measure a child’s success in a particular standard; either grade (A, B, C, D, E, F) or percentage. However, the question is what is better out of the two. What effects do both the methods have on a child’s psyche, self-esteem, and future performance, are all factors that need to be taken into consideration? Here are some advantages and disadvantages of both the methods.
Pressure
When it comes to grading, each grade is indicative of the percentage bracket under which the student’s result falls. However, with marks, a student knows exactly where s/he falls. While the former is slightly vague it surely reduces the pressure a child undergoes when dealing with results. On the other hand, the latter creates sometimes extreme pressure on the student, especially because the difference of a single point can create a sense of inferiority in the child among his/her peers.
Measures overall performance
With the grading system, many top CBSE schools in India , take into consideration a whole lot along with the test scores. It also measures the internal assignments, projects, performance in class, behaviour in class, extracurricular activities as well as the final examination marks. With marking the main focus were the examination marks. Thus, the grading system allows the student to be focused on other important things at school too.
Reduced competition
Some amount of competition is always necessary among student. It is healthy for a student to deal with. However, with the grading system, there is hardly any sense of competition among the students and those who work hard and those who don’t work as hard might sometimes end up with the same grades, offering no incentive to the students.
Precise figure
Grades also do not give a clear indication of how much has a child grasped in the class. While that can be the case for marks too, grades can very easily put the child in a single bracket. As a central school Bhubaneswar we at ODM pay a lot of attention to a child understanding what is happening in class and thus, we arrange certain activities for the students that help determine how much they’ve understood and they are thus also given marks for performing well in the activities.
The Verdict
The grading system might take the burden off the students but it does become unfair for some others. This could lead to a lack of disparity among the students and give undue advantage to the students who only work hard during their exams. Moreover, it also places the responsibility on the teachers to keep an eye on each student’s overall performance. Thus, as a CBSE residential school in Bhubaneswar, we have laid our insights and it now lies on you to make a call what works better for your child.
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